The fields of dentistry and orthodontics attempt to solve the problems associated with proper tooth care and proper tooth location. Orthodontics specifically deals with the moving or turning of abnormally positioned teeth. In this field, it has been commonly accepted that a tooth moves in response to applied forces and torques from an orthodontic appliance. Different orthodontic appliances have been used to provide the necessary mechanical forces to correct improper tooth tipping, rotation, and location.
Each individual patient provides a unique dental structure with respect to tooth orientation and position. Therefore, the application of tooth braces or other orthodontic appliances will not affect all patients uniformly. A significant portion of the patients who require orthodontic appliances are young children and adolescents. This group typically finds the orthodontic appliances to be unsightly and a source of embarrassment. Patients of all ages typically find the orthodontic appliances uncomfortable and desire for them to complete their purpose (i.e. to properly position one's teeth) in the shortest possible amount of time. Hence, a precise measurement technique for determining how the appliance is affecting the position of the teeth will allow increases in the effectiveness of the orthodontic appliance thereby potentially resulting in a shortened time period that the orthodontic appliance must be worn by the patient. Therefore, when a tooth is to be reoriented or otherwise repositioned, it is desirable for clinicians to know the magnitude and direction of forces and torques exerted on the tooth by the orthodontic appliance so that they may better predict the effectiveness of the orthodontic appliance on each tooth. It should be appreciated that clinicians may then use this information to adjust the orthodontic appliance if need be.
Hence, a number of measurement devices have heretofore been designed in an effort to determine the effectiveness of certain orthodontic appliances. For example, measurement devices have heretofore been designed which attempt to measure certain mechanical properties of an orthodontic appliance when it is secured to a number of pedestals or bar-like structures by use of certain types of rigid friction methods. However, such devices have a number of drawbacks associated therewith. For example, use of such rigid friction methods to attach the orthodontic appliance to the pedestals of the heretofore designed measurement device is substantially different than the methods which are utilized to attach the orthodontic appliance in a clinic (i.e. the methods utilized to secure the orthodontic appliance to the patient's teeth) thereby producing potentially inaccurate results. Moreover, heretofore designed measurement devices have typically been able to measure mechanical output of an orthodontic device in only a limited number of axes thereby limiting the value of the measurements obtained by the device.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an accurate measurement device for measuring mechanical output of an orthodontic appliance thereby allowing a clinician to receive more precise data which will allow the clinician to make more informed decisions for the patient's benefit. As a result, increased effectiveness of orthodontic appliances will provide more successful correction of the patient's dental anomalies in a more timely manner thereby reducing the negative connotation associated with the appliances. It will further allow the orthodontic treatment to proceed with greater effectiveness and less clinical monitoring.
Therefore, what is needed is an orthodontic measurement device which overcomes one or more of the above mentioned drawbacks. What is further needed is an orthodontic measurement device which produces more accurate measurement data relative to heretofore designed measurement devices. What is also needed is an orthodontic measurement device which measures orthodontic forces applied by an orthodontic appliance which is customized for individual patients.